1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a specimen preparation apparatus, a specimen preparation/analysis system and a specimen plate, and more particularly, it relates to a specimen preparation apparatus for preparing a specimen on a slide glass, a specimen preparation/analysis system and a specimen plate having a specimen preparation area for preparing a specimen.
2. Description of the Background Art
A blood smear A blood smear preparation apparatus preparing a blood specimen by smearing blood on a slide glass (specimen plate) is generally known as a specimen preparation apparatus, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,982, for example. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,982 discloses a blood smear preparation apparatus automatically carrying out steps from that of smearing blood on a slide glass up to a staining step. In the blood smear preparation apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,982, cassettes storing stained slide glasses (specimens) respectively are kept in a keeping part provided in the blood smear preparation apparatus.
On the other hand, an automatic blood cell analyzer automatically classifying blood cells by digitally image-processing a blood specimen is generally known as a specimen analyzer. A smear prepared in the aforementioned blood smear preparation apparatus can be analyzed with this automatic blood cell analyzer. In order to analyze the smear prepared in the blood smear preparation apparatus with the automatic blood cell analyzer, an operator generally unloads a stained slide glass (specimen) stored in the corresponding cassette kept in the keeping part of the blood smear preparation apparatus, stores the slide glass in a magazine dedicated to the automatic blood cell analyzer and sets the magazine on the automatic blood cell analyzer.
According to the aforementioned conventional method requiring the operator to unload the stained slide glass (specimen) from the cassette kept in the blood smear preparation apparatus, store the same in the magazine and set the magazine on the automatic blood cell analyzer, however, the operator is disadvantageously burdened.